Bottle cooler



Dec. 4. 1928.

y H. B. WILLIAMS BOTTLE COOLER Filed Sept. 2, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

De. 4, 192s. 1,693,995

H. B. WILLIAMS BOTTLE COOLER Filed Sept. 2, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 4, 1928.

UNITEDA sTATEsfPATENT OFFICE.

HENRY B. WILLIAMS, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN W. LADD CO., OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

BOTTLE COOLER.

Application nea september 2, 1925. semina. `54,104.

This invention relatesV to method of and means for automatically cooling bottles and the like as they are discharged from a bottle washing machine. Heretofore', with milk bottles for instance, the crates or boxes containingthe bottles are passed through the` in temperature and immediatelyl returned to p the filling machine for reiilling.

The novel features of the invention are involved in the means of and method by which the bottles are reduced in temperature to approximately at or below the temperature of the milk with which t-hey are to lbe filled and consists in successively coating the bottles inside andout with vapor or with water at a temperature above that v.which would cause breakage of the bottles and applying moisture absorbing air or gas to cause a rapid evaporation of the moisture and consequent reduction in temperature of the bottles. When the temperature of the bottles has been reduced sufficiently they are submitted to a final spray of cold water7 the purpose being to reduce the temperature of the bottles` to such point that the milk with ,which they are to be filled is not caused to rise in temperature.

These objects and the several novel features of the invention are hereinafter lmore fully described and claimed, and the preferred form of an apparatus for theperformance of the method is shown bythe accompanying drawings vin which-V Fig. 1 is a side view diagrammatic in form showing the apparatus and relationship of parts for the'rapid cooling of the bottles.

Fig. 2 is a detail partlyin'section showing the method of discharging a .VapOrO-steam and ywater into and aroundfthe bottles.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the device taken on lines'3-3 of Fig. 1. Y

In the preferred form of apparatus "there is a conveyor 1 for the cases or boxes 2 which provides a continuation of a conveyor 3 from the washing machine (not 'here shown).

These cases, as will be understood from ."Fig.

3, are openat the 'top and bottom and as shown at the left side of 1, the-bottles are supported with the open ends downward. The crates ride on rollers 4 provided between the side members of the conveyor as willbe understood fromthe right hand side of Fig. 1 and are therefore readily movable through the machine in end to end contact and preferably by the power .supplied in moving the cases through the washing machine. Preferably the cooler is provided with a sheet metal housing which houses the conveyor and cases as indicated more particularly in Fig. 3 and sufiicient opening is provided at the lfront and rear ends of' t-he housing to permit unobstructed passage of the boxes into and out 0i' the cooling device.

lVithin the housing the conveyor isdivided into sections by sheetmetal division walls 5,

y5 etc., so that there are providedsections 6, 7,

8, 9 and 10, some of which are the length of a single case or box and some of which are the length of two crates. YBeneath the conveyor I have provided a sheet metal duct 11 which is supplied by a fan indicated diagrammatircally at 12 which may be of any desired type asl for instance the blowervtype which takes air from the roomvor any desired source and discharges it through the outlet ducts 13, 14,

. 15, 16 and-17. In the lducts 14 and 16 'I have provided what I have termed a vaporizer shown more clearly in Fig. 2. This vaporizer comprises a conduit 18 havinga water inlet19 provided with a spray head 20 and a steam conduit21 blows across the top of' the sprayhead 20 to produce a heated vapor. There are two vaporizers 18 provided one openinginto the conduit 14 and the other openingrinto the conduit 16 and thevhea-ted vapor passing from the vaporizer is mixed with the air.` flowing through the respective conduit 14 or 16 ,as will be understood froml lFig. 1. In the vaporizer 18"which opens into the conduit 16 the quantity'of .steam utilizedis less than that passing intothe conduit 14 so that the resultant vapor and air mixture from the conduit 16 is cooler than the vapor` i' l and air mixture passing from the conduit 14.` A tank 22 is provided atthe discharge end of the housing as shown'in Fig. 1 and is adapted to spray cold water over the bottles in the open cases anda reservoir tank 23 is providedv directly beneath the spray tank 22 and isadapted to receive the water passing from the spray tank. This reservoir' tank4 23 Vis preferably equipped with brine coils 9() to cool the water therein and a pump 24 is provided driven by an electric motorw25 and is adapted to pump the cooled Water from the reservoir tank to the spray tank 22.

The cases contain both pint and quart boti v bottles and by the continuous movement of the cases the bottles are next moved over the section 7 where a mixture of heated vapor and air is blown about the bottles from the duct 14. The bottles are next moved into the scction 8 where dry air isblown over them from the duct 15 which further cools the bottles after which they are subjected to a warm vapor and air mixture from. the duct 16'which is cooler than that blown through the duct 14:. The bottles th en pass into the section 10 where dry air is blown through and about the bottles from the duct 16 to further cool the bottles and by the continuous movement of theI cases the bottles are next subjected to a spray of cold water from the spray tank 22 and the cases with the bottles passfrom the machine over the' roller 4 of the conveyor in a com pletely cooled condition and the bottles may be then filled with cold milk without danger of breakage.

IVhile I have described a means of supplying a vapor to the bottles it is to be understood that heated water may be discharged to both the interior and exterior of the bottle in any approved manner. The bottles on passing from the washing machine have a tempera-ture of about 190 degrees F., and ity has been found that with glass at present in use if water or vapor is discharged onto the bottles it must have a temperature wit-hin eighty degrees of the temperature of the bottlc or breakage will result. Therefore, in the beginning a water spray having a temperature of about 115 degrees F.,`will be sufficient for this purpose and subsequent to the coatl A ing ofthe bottle with moisture a moisture absorbing air having a very much lower temperature may be employed as I have found the Y temperature of air may be very much lower Imay be prov than the temperature Vof the bottle without causing breakage. The number of steps in this cool ing process is not material as it would only a fect the rapidity with which the bottles may be passed through the machine. In the drawings I have illustrated four steps in which thebottles `are twice subjected to the moistening step and` twice to the dry air step. This is about the least number of steps that may beiemployed with the usual washing and filli' machines but additional Steps bpttles more rapidly..

ed if it is lesii'ed to handle the operation of' the apparatus will be readily understood and that it is evident the apparatus is simple and inexpensive in form and provides a device adapted to accomplish the ob'ects described.

aving thus fully described my' invention, its utility and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is i 1. A machine for cooling y previously washed and heated bottles comprising a conveyor to which heated bottles are supplied, and a series of ducts arranged to discharge upwardly through the conveyor and about the bottles, means :for passing moisture absorbing air through the ducts, means for add ing heated vapor to the air passing through some of the said ducts,'the arrangement providing that the bottles are successively submitted to a bath of moisture absorbing air and a'bath of heated vapor in succession, a spray tank positioned over the discharge end water over the bottles therein as they pass therebeneath, a reservoir beneath the conveyor and spray tank adapted to receive water discharged from' the tank, means for cooling the water inthe reservoir, and a punlip for returning the cooled water to the tan 2. A machine for cooling heated glass bottles comprising a housing, a conveyor for botties extending longitudinally therethrough, a series of ducts over the open ends on which the bottles are passed, means for discharging moisture absorbing air through the said ducts, and'means for supplyin heated vapor o several of the ducts so t at the bottles are subjected to a bath of air and heated vapor and then to a bath of moisture absorbing air successively as they i regress through the machine, a reservoir neath the conveyor at the discharge end of the housing, a spray tank `in the housing above the conveyor and reservoir adapted ,to discharge cold water over the bottles into the reservoir, means or cooling the water in the reservoir, and a pump for transferring the water from the reservoir to the spray tank.

3. A machine forV cooling heated and cleansed bottles, comprisin a conveyor to which the bottles are: supp ied, a blower, a series of ducts having the discharge ends in alignment beneath the conveyor, means for discharging moisture absorbing air through the ducts, means for adding heated vapor to air passlng. through part of the ducts only` whereby the heated bottles are submitted to means for spraying the bottles with cold v water subsequent to ends of the air ducts. p

4. A machine for the rapid and continuous cooling of hea-ted receptacles of fragile material comprising a housing, a conveyor therein for transferringthe bottles through the housing, a blower, a series of ducts to passing the discharge which air is discharged by the blower, the

said ducts having openings beneath the conveyor whereby the air is discharged through the conveyor and into and about the receptacles, means for supplying heated vapor to some of the ducts so that the bottles are covered with a moisture caused to vaporize rapid- 1y through subsequent submission of the bottles to a flow of air thereabout, and means for spraying the bottles with cold water subsequent to submission to the air and moisture baths.

5. In a machine for cooling heated articles formed of fragile material, means providing a bat-h of moisture laden air, means providing a bath of moisture absorbing air, and means for submitting the articles to the said baths in succession whereby rapid evaporation on the surface of the articles and consequent cooling thereof is produced.

6. The method of cooling heated fragile articles consisting in submitting the same successively to a bath of moisture absorbing air of a temperature below the temperature of the articles, then to a bath of moisture laden air to cause deposition of moisture thereon, then to a second bath of moisture absorbing air, and then to a second bath of moisture laden air of lower temperature than the first moisture laden bath, and then to a third bath of moisture absorbing air, and finally spraying the bottles with water having a temperature sufficient to reduce the temperature of the articles to the desired final extent.

7 The method of cooling heated articles of fragile material consisting in submitting the same successively toa bath Vof moisture absorbing air and of heated vapor alternately having a temperature below that of the articles being treated, and then spraying the articles with cold water to finally cool them.

8. The method of cooling heated receptacles of fragile material preparatory to filling with cold fluid which consists in first coating the receptacles inside and out with a vaporizable liquid having a temperature below that of the receptacles and above that which would cause breakage thereof, and then submitting the moisture coated receptacles to a bath of moisture absorbing air having a temperature not in excess of that of receptacles submitted thereto and repeating the steps until the temperature of the receptacles is reduced to an extent to permit subection without breakage to the final step, viz, submitting the receptacles to a bath of cold water to reduce the temperature thereof to approximately that of the fluid with which they are to be filled.

9. The method of coolingiheated receptacles of' fragile material preparatory to filling with a cold liquid whichi'nv'olves the subjection ofthe heated receptacles to a bath of vaporizable liquid, and then to a bath of moisture absorbing air having a temperature below that of the receptacles submitted thereto and repeating said steps to cause suc cessive periods of rapid evaporation at the surface of the receptacles until the temperature thereof is reduced to a point permittingv subjection without breakage to liquid of a temperature approximately that of the liquid with'which the articles are to be filled.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification. e

HENRY B. WILLIAMS. 

